Segmentally separable gas turbine power plant



April 7, 1953 J. c. HAwmNs SEGMENTALLY SEPARABLE GAS TURBINE POWER PLANT4 sheets-sheet 5 /NvE/vToR JOHN 'c HAWK/Ns ATTORNEY Ap 7, 1953 J. c.HAwKlNs SEGMENTALLY SEPARABLE GAS TURBINE POWER PLANT Filed March so,194e A 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Isl) INVENTOR ATTORNEY Patented Apr. 7, A1953UNITED STATES SEGMENTALLY SEPARABLE GAS TURBINE POWER PLANT John C.Hawkins, North Hollywood, Calif., assignor to John Hawkins andAssociates Research Laboratory,

lInc.,

North Hollywood,

Calif., a corporation of California Application March 30, 1946, SerialNo. 658,390

(Cl. (iO-39.36)

2 Claims.

My invention relates to continuous combustion motors of the type inwhich the expanding combustion products actuate a gas turbine, which inturn drives a compressor for supplying air to the motor and maintainingthe necessary pressure gradient.

The particular embodiment of my invention herein described is a purejet-propulsion motor, that is, one in which the gas turbine developsonly suicient power to drive the compressor, the remainder of the energyof the expanding combustion products being utilized in a jet forpropelling an aeroplane.

An object of my invention is to provide a motor which is easy toassemble and to disassemble, and which may be handled in separablesegments for transportation and installation.

Further objects and advantages of my invention will be evident from thefollowing description and from the drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a somewhat diagrammatic longitudinal section of the wholemotor assembled, all background being omitted;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section of one of two identical halves of thecompressor segment, taken on the lines 2 2 of Figs. 7 and 9;

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section of one of two identical halves of thegas-turbine segment, taken on the lines 3 3 of Figs. 11, 12, and 13;

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal section of one of two identical halves of theturbine discharge chamber segments;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary longitudinal sectionon the line 5 5 of Fig. 12;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary longitudinal section on the line 6 6 of Fig. 12;

Fig. 7 is a cross section on the line 1 1 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary longitudinal section` on the line 8 8 of Fig. 7;

Fig. 9 is a cross section on the line 9 9 of Fig. 2;

Fig. l0 is a fragmentary longitudinal section on the line IU-Hl of Fig.9;

Fig. 11 is a cross section on the line Il ll of Fig. 3;

Fig. 12 is a cross section on the line I2 I2 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 13 is a fragmentary cross section on the line |3 |3 of Fig. 3;

' Fig. 14 is a plan view of the compressor stator blade sleeve, the twoparts being shown disas to clarify the manner in which the motor func?In Fig. 1, and also in the other longi` tudinal sections and the planviews, the direction of motion of the motor is toward the upper end ofthe page. f Referring now to Fig. 1, it will be noted that` the motor isdivided, approximately along trans' Verse planes, into five segments,each of which (with one unimportant exception) can be as-` tions.

sembled independently of the others. These are,

from front to rear, the air inlet segment generally indicated at 2l, thecompressor segmentI generally indicated at 22, the gas turbine segmentgenerally indicated at 23the turbine dis-j charge chamber segmentgenerally indicated at'y 2e, and nozzle tube 25.

Air inlet segment 2| consists of duct 26 and4 diffuser cap 2l, whichform the outer and innerr walls respectively of an annular air passage28.1 The air inlet segment is subject to extreme var-f `iation dependingon the type of installation; inv

the case of a motor mountedin the Wing of an aeroplane the formillustrated would be used, but.

in the case of installation in the fuselage a quite different system ofscoops and ducts would bevr required.

Segments 22, 23, and 2@ are shown in more detail in other figures andwill be fully described' Nozzle tube 25 is regularly cylin-- dricalexcept for a moderate restriction near the' hereinafter.

rear end forming a Venturi throat 29, for imphere.

plete before discharge.

this motor is as follows.

to a high pressure and delivers a main stream to passage 32, an outersecondary stream to passage S3, and an inner secondary stream to passage34 immediately surrounding the shaft. The' main stream and the outersecondary stream are subdivided into longitudinal channels by uns,

webs, and spider legs to be described below.

The inner secondary stream iiows rearwardlyl through the bearings (whichare ball bearings of i open construction) and around the shaft al1 theway back to annular vent 35 immediately in frontV of the gas turbine,and the outer secondary stream rejoins the main stream through ,an.

nular vent 36. Both secondary streams serve as cooling media for thebearings, the shaft, and associated parts. The main stream of air flowson rearwardly to 3l, where a first reversal of flow occurs. fuelinjectors 38-38 into mixing chambers 39-39 -where the stream isconverted into a mixture of air and kerosene or the like. At the end ofthe mixing chambers a second reversal of flow occurs and the stream owspast igniter plugs All-4i! into combustion chambers lll-4I. It will benoted that, by means of the two reversals-of flow and the system of nsand webs which will be described hereinafter, an-eicient two-stageheatexchangerelation is produced which preheats the stream of air to ahigh degree and conserves a great deal of thermal energy which wouldotherwise be lost. The reversals of flow do somewhat impede the streamand thus increase the load on the compressor, but this loss of energy-is much more than compensated for by the increase of thermal efficiencyachieved Vby the preheating of the. air.

From combustion chambers M-d'l, the burning .and rapidly expandingstream flows rearwardly through axial-flow gas turbine G2, whichconverts a portion of the energy of the expanding gases into rotativemotion, and which drives the rotor of compressor 30 by means of a shaftwhich willbe described below.

After leaving the turbine, theburning stream passes through discharge.chamber 43 into nozzle tube '25, wherein substantially completeexpansion of the combustion products occurs. Thus, when the stream isdischarged to atmosphere -at the rearward end of 'the tube 25, .it is ajet of fairly low pressure and extremely high velocity, very suitable aspropulsion means 'for aircraft.

Consider now Figs. 2, "I, and 9, which show in greater detail theassembled compressor segment 22. The compressor rotor blades 50-50 andthe compressor stator blades 5|-5'I are shown only in outline, sincevblade design does not form part of my present invention and since thetheory of design of axial-'now turbo-compressor blades is known to thoseskilled in the art of producing jet-propulsion motors and the like.However, my invention does include certain novel means for mounting thecompressor blades.

The outer casing 52 of the compressor segment is of annular, one-piececonstruction, consisting of. aforward cylindrical portion, a rearcylindrical portion of smaller diameter, and a rearwardly convergingconicalportion joining the two cylindrical portions. The front end ofcasing 52 is provided with a shoulder 53 to receive a matching shoulderon the rear end of air inlet duct 26.,.andthe rear end of casing 52l isprovided with a flange 54 having a number of bolt holes 55-55 forattachment to the casing of the gas-turbine segment. Formed integrallywith casing 52 are eight .longitudinal ribs 56-56, which run along theoutside of the casing from the front end of the conical portion toflange 54, as is more clearly shown in Fig. 1.

The forward spider is an integrally formed part consisting of outer,intermediate, and innercylindrical portions 51, 58,-and 55 respectively,four spider legs which join outer cylindrical portion 51 to'intermediatecylindrical portion 58, and sixteen Webs'fGI-Bl which join innercylindrical portion 59 to intermediate cylindrical portion 58. Spiderlegs 60--60 are streamlined as shown in Fig. 8, and the'leading andtrailing edges of webs lil-6| arealso streamlined. The inside of innercylin- Thence the air flows forwardly past the remaining twelve are iins'Hl-10.

drical portion 59 is bored to a proper diameter to receive a pair ofbearings 62--52 and is also bored and threaded to receive bearinglocking rings 63 and Bel. The front end of intermediate cylindricalportion 58 is provided with a shoulder to receive a matching shoulder onthe rear end of diffuser cap 2.

The compressor segment rear spider is an integrally formedpartconsisting of inner cylinder 66 and outer cylinder 67 joined by eightwebs 68-68, and sixteen longitudinal members projecting Yf:om the outersurface of outer cylinder 6l, four of which are spider legs 69-59 whileSpider legs 69-9 differ from fins 'IU-'Hl only in that the spider legsare `long enough radially to bein contact with the inner surface ofcasing 52 and each is provided with two threaded holes vto Vreceive highstrength'bolts as indicated at I in Fig. 9, while fins 'iii-lil areslightly shot-tento provide clearance between their outerends and -thecasing, and are not-provided with bolt holes. The clearance vpermitsthecasing to respond to unequal thermal expansion by -a slightdistortion inthe shape of its cross section Vand thus Yprevents ex@cessive strain on the parts and prevents other types of distortion whichwould be less-desirable.

The forward edges of the fins, webs, and `spider' legs, together ywiththe forward edge of cylinder 6.?, are streamlined, while-the rear edgesof lthese members, which-abut against similar members in the gas-turbinesegment, are left square yor provided with shoulders as shown. y=Avlongitudinal section of a rin 'le isrshown in'Fi'g. '10; a rsimilarsection of a spider leg .69 `would be identical. It will be seenthat/these fins and spider legs are thickened in Vtheir forwardportions. This thickening cooperates with asimilar thickening ofcylinder .61. to producea .restrictionvof passage-32 immediately to therear-oftheturbo-compressor. The restriction is desirablefor increasingthe velocity of the main stream at this point.

The. inner surface of inner cylinder is bored to fit a pair of bearings1,2.2, an inwardly projecting,bearing-retainingring .i3 being left.Also, the rear end. .of` cylinder [it is provided with a shoulder 14 toreceive parts of the gas-turbine segment.

Compressor shaft 15, which Ais Van integrally formed unit, is provided:internally at its rear end with splineways asshown at .'16, forthepurposeA of operatively connecting it with the gasturbine shaft. shaftis provided with a .shoulder VI whichts against bearing i2 andwithawide'outwardly projecting disc 'i8 which forms the rear disc of thecompressor rotor. The forward face of disc .T8 .is perpendicular to theaxis, and at except for an annular rib i9 near theperiphery.

Forward of disc 'I8 the shafthas a splined portion upon which t threeintermediate .discs -.BI and forward disc 82, these four discs beingprovided with central openings having suitable splineways. Both faces ofeach .of intermediate discs 8|-8I are provided with annular ribs likerib 19, and the rear face of forward disc 82 is also provided with sucha rib. The base portions `of rotor blades 5-5 are provided with arcuatechannels which .t the annular ribs of discs 18, 8I-8I, and 82.

Forward of splined portion 86, shaft 'l5 has a threaded portion toreceive nut 83, asmooth portion to receive bearings 62-62 and spacer 84,and another threaded portion to receive lock nuts 85 and 86. The forwardend of the rotating structure is shown as being lfinished off with aSomewhat forward of this, the

hexagon nut 81, but it will be understood that in practice the forwardend of the structure'is modified to provide suitable connecting` meansfor a starting motor or for a train of reduction gears.

Stator blades 5|-5| project inwardly from compressor stator blade sleeve88, to which they are attached by welding. As shown in Fig. 14, sleeve88 is split longitudinally into two halves 89 and 90, which, whenassembled, are connected together by a number of tabs 9|-9 l. These tabsare merely to facilitate assembly; they do not bear any stress when themotor is assembled and operating. Y

The rotor blades may be secured against angular motion with respect tothe shaft in various ways, but I prefer to use a light resistance weldwhich is strong enough to prevent angular slippage but which can bebroken loose easily when it is'desired to disassemble the rotor toreplace blades or other parts.

The clearance between bearing-retaining rings 63 and 64 and the adjacentparts of the shaft assembly is made somewhat greater than that necessaryfor avoiding contact, in order to provide an adequate passage for astream of air which flows through bearings 62-62. After cooling thebearings, this stream of air flows rearwardly to the forward face ofdisc 82, then outwardly to join the main stream immediately in front ofthe rst row of rotor blades. Other streams of cooling air flow throughthe sixteen longitudinal channels between webs 6|-6|, and join the mainstream in the same way. Thus the bearings are cooled both directly andindirectly through extensive heat-transfer surfaces. Bearings 'l2-12 arecooled similarly by air which flows from the compressor inwardly overthe rear face of disc 18 into the annular passage surrounding the rearportion of shaft 15 and into the eight longitudinal channels betweenwebs (S8- 60.

Rearwardly of the compressor the main stream is divided into sixteenequal parts by fins 'l0-10 and spider legs 69-69. The additionalheattransfer surface thus achieved is of minor importance at this point,although it is of major importance in similar portions of thegas-turbine segment. But this subdivision of the main stream is highlydesirable for beginning the directional flow control of the air mass andfor equalizing the ow of air to the eight mixing chambers which will bedescribed below.

Consider now Figs. 3, 11, and 12, which show in detail theV` assembledgas-turbine segment 23. Casing |00 is of annular, one-piececonstruction. Its forward end, which is of the same diameter as the rearend of casing 52, is provided with a ange |0| and bolt holes asillustrated at |02, to match fiange 54 and bolt holes 55-55. From thefront end the casing diverges rearwardly on a smooth curve for abouthalf its length. The rear half of the casing is cylindrical except thatnear the rear end the outer surface diverges to create a thickenedportion of the wall and the inner surface is cut away at the rear end toform a shoulder |03. Eight ribs |04|04 project outwardly from the casingwall. These begin at flange |0| and terminate in the rearward thickenedportion of the casing wall as is illustrated more clearly in Fig. l.

The turbine-segment forward spider is a onepiece unit consisting ofinner cylindrical member |05, an outer, rearwardly flaring member |06,eight webs |0`||0`| joining members |05 and |06 to one another, and fourspider legs |08 and twelve flns |09 projecting outwardly from memmalexpansion. The forward ends of membersA |05 and |06 are provided withshoulders to match the corresponding shoulders of the rearcompressor-segment spider, in order that these parts iit together asshown in Fig. 1. The forward portion of inner spider member |05 is boredto a proper diameter to receive bearing |0 and bearing-retaining sleeveand the rear portion of member |05 is bored to a proper diameter toreceive the forward hub end of the master-chamber unit aboutto bedescribed.

The master-chamber unit is an integrally formed piece consisting of anelongated hub ||2, a wall ||3, a bearing-engaging ring ||4, and variousfins and webs to be set forth. The rear portion of wall ||3 iscylindrical, somewhat thickened toward the end, and the end is rounded01T as shown. The forward portion of wall |3 converges forwardly on asmooth curve until it meets a portion of the wall which is formed to theare of a torus, recurving to meet hub ||2 with the inner surface of thewall tangent to the outer surface of the hub. The toroidal portion ofthe wall constitutes the front wall of the combustion chambers and themeans for causing the second reversal of flow of the air stream.

Hub H2, which is cylindrical throughout most of its length, extendsforward of its junction with wall ||3 a short distance to formprojection ||5, which fits within the rear portion of member |05. Therear end of hub ||2 is enlarged on an ogee curve to form a housing andcooling region for bearings ||6| I6. The enlarged portion of the hub isjoined to ring ||4 by eight webs I1; these webs have rearward extensionswhich constitute the mounting for bearing-locking ring ||8 and which areprovided with holes to contain springs ||9||9 and balls |20-|20, asshown in Fig. 13.

Four webs I2||2| subdivide the space between hub ||2 and wall ||3. Theshape of these webs is shown most clearly in Fig. 6; in particular, itshould be noted that each is provided with a deep out of the proper sizeand shape to receive cylinder |22 and leave a moderate clearance. Fourns |23| 23, situated alternately with respect to webs |2|-|2|, extendinwardly from wall ||3 as far as cylinder |22, a moderate clearancebeing left. The rear ends of ns |23|23 are cut away to provide housingspace for fuel injectors 38-38. Four ribs |24-|24, situated alternatelywith respect to webs |2|-|2|, project outwardly from hub ||2. These ribsare low enough to fall well short of cylinder |22.

Sixteen ns |25-I25 extend outwardly from wall I3. In the assembled motorthese fins are longitudinally continuous, except for a liberal clearanceleft for expansion, with the four spider legs |08|08 and the twelve fins|09-|09 of the forward turbine-segment spider. However, all of the ns|25| 25 are of a proper size and shape to leave clearance between theirouter edges and casing |00 and none of them is provided with fasteningmeans, other means for securing the master-chamber unit having beenprovided.

The combustion-chamber throat unit is an integrally formed piececonsisting of a cylindrical portion |22, a rearwardly diverging conicalpor--l ajsazigor;l

tion `|2|-of'somewhat greater'wall thickness except-whereit cut :away.toA receive .turbine stator blade sleeve 12'?, a -deep bulkhead |28,and the ribs and vanes which will'bedescribed. 'The rear face ofbulk-head |="..B= is plane zandV perpendicular to lthe-axis .of themotor, the outer surface. .is shaped to t the rear'end of casing mii,and the forward vface is formed to the larc-ot a .torus in orderto-causefthe'rst reversal-'of the air stream. Thirty-two approximatelysemicircular varies |2-9|2`9 extend :forward from `:the Vforward face ofbulkhead |2-8; `in each of these isleft a sendcircular notch to make-room for the rear end of Wall H3. yCylindrical portion |22 is providedwith twenty-'four ribs itil-JSE, arranged in groups rof threeanddistributed as shown in Fig. l2, which act as -ame grids and whichserve to stien the cylinder and thus rminimize thermal distortion. Theshape of these `ribs is shown mereclearl-y in Fig. 5.

Axial-'now gas turbine 'ft2l is generally similar tothe'turbo-compressor, except that the structure is "much smaller and theblade design is entirely-diiiei-ent As inthe-case ofthe compressor,the-blade design is not shown-since it falls outside the-scopeof the`present invention and since those skilled in the art of producingjet-propulsion motors understand the principles of designing blades foraxial-flow vgas turbines.

'Turbine'stator bladesleeve iE'i-,lilee compressor stator blade sleeveSi?, is made in two halves which are attached to one Aanotherby tabsISE-i3! as shown r=in Fig. 1`5`. Inwardly projecting from sleeveY-li'i-are a-single-series sista-tor blades 32 andthe blades of nozzlering |33. rThe primary function of 'the nozzle ring is to increase thevelocity of thegas stream immediately upstream of the-turbine-and tocontrol the manner in which the gas i-mpinges upon the rst row of rotorblades-and its design is intimately connected` with the design -of 'theturbine blades. In my motor the -nozzlefring also serves aistructuralpurpose, being 'the means for 4holding bearing-locking ring I'll''inposition.

The gas-turbine rotor includes two rows of rotor blades |34|34 held inposition by reardiso |35, intermediate disc V|35, and forward disc i3?.These discs are substantially the same, in design and functiom'asthe'discs of the compressor rotor described above. disc i361 areprovided YWith central openings and splineways which 'ma-tch splinedportion |38 of shaft |39, while forward disc itl* is an integral partofshaft |39;

Gas-turbine sha-ft |39- terminates at the rear of splined portion |38 ina threaded portion |41] which receives lock nut 14|. Forward of disc |31the shaft hasl a smooth portion of the proper diameter to receive,bearings HE HS, then an elongated 4portion of slightly smallerdiameter, then another bearing-receiving portion to t bearing I0, athreaded portion to receive nut M52, and nally a splined portion |43 toYmatch the internal' splineways 'i5 Vat ythe rear end of thecompressorshait.

The gas-turbine bearing lock consists of an inner ring '|-8, anouterfring |554, and eight Webs |45 which join ytherearend of ring AI I8rto ring |44. 'Inner ring |-|`3 'isa short cylindrical member the innersurface of which fits the periphery of bearings ll'I-lii, with aninwardly extending projection Yat the rear end. Thel outer surface ofthe forward and medial portion of ring ||8 ts the rearward extensions ofWebs IIT-I and is provided With depressions to receive spring-urged Reardisc |35 and intermediate 8 balls |2|l|2 shown in Fig. 13. Outer ring|44 is shaped to nt the enlarged rear end of masterchamber hub ||2 andis provided with threaded holes by means of which it is bolted, throughblades of nozzle ring |33, to sleeve |21.

The four fuel injectors 38-38 are Ymounted immediately behind and inline with the four ns i23-l23, so that each fuel injector serves two ofthe eight mixing chambers partitioned off by ns IZB- |23 and webs|2|-|2|. Various types of fuel injectors which have been devised forcontinuous combustion motors are suitable for use. rlhe design of thefuel injectors does not form part of the `present'inventionexcept to theextent it is modified to facilitate Vassembly of the motor. It 4will benoted that the shield |135 of an injector is xed to the rear end of a'in`|23 and lto masterchaniber wall H3, while the fuel injector proper is.connected by means of fuel tube Uil to -one'of the vanes |29. Therearend ofthe injectorproper is provided with four-spider legs let-|48 whicht into vthe slightly flaring rearward portion of the shield. When,duringzassemoly or"- the motor, the master-chamber unitand the`combustion--chamber throat unit are fitted together, each of the fue1injectors Lslips into place within its shield and is thenceforth heldfirmly and accurately in position without the need lof other fasteningmeans.

Four combustion chambers are partitioned o` between hub H2, throat |22,vand the toroidal front portion of wall 3 'by the four webs tai-I 2 i.Each combustion chamber is provided with one or" the-four igniter plugslib- 130. These plugs are similar in construction tothe familiar sparkplug used in gasoline engines, a Vloop of resistance -wire Vbeingsubstituted for the spark gap. They are screwed into suitable threadedopenings in the front wall ofthe combustion chambers.

It will be noted that the various air channels partitioned off in therear portion of the compressor segment are continued l-in the gasturbinesegment. The inner secondary stream ows through bearing H0 and throughthe annular space surrounding shaft |39, cooling these parts as it goes,until it reaches the housing region of bearings` Vil-i---H There it isdivided into an inner stream and an outer stream, the latter beingsubdivided into eight channels by Webs ll'l-'HL The-inner stream flowsthrough bearings ||6| |16 to produce direct cooling, and thenceoutwardly over the forward face of disc |31 until :it is drawn into themain stream of gas just forward of the -gas turbine. The outer streamfiows through the channels between webs ||1| Il to produce indirectcooling of the bearings and then joins the main gas stream in the samemanner. The outer secondary stream issuing from the compressor segmentiiows between members |05 and |06 of the forward turbine-segment spider,the subdivision into eight channels being continued by Webs IG'-IGI.This stream is drawn into the main airstream through the annular vent atthe rearward end of member lImi.

The subdivision of the main stream into sixteen parts is continued inthe gas-turbine segment by fins M9-|69 and spider legs IDB- |08 of theforward spider, and then Lby iins |25|25 of the master-chamber unit. Thesixteen channels are then temporarily subdivided into thirty-twochannels by vanes l29-.|29, Vin order to achieve better directional nowcontrol in the region of the rst .reversal of the air stream. Then kthethirty-two parts of the stream are combined into eight parts in themixing chambers and next are further combined into four parts in thecombustions. Finally, at the rearward termination of the inner portionsof webs |2|-|2|, the main stream is combined into a single annularchannel prior to its entry to nozzle ring |33.

Consider now Fig. which illustrates turbine discharge chamber segment24. Casing |50, at its front end, has the same inside diameter as therear end of sleeve |21 which it abuts in the assembled motor. Rearwardlythe casing wall rst diverges to produce a streamlined surface incombination with the conical inner surface of sleeve l2? and then,following a smooth cur-ve, converges to bring the diameter down to matchthat of nozzle tube 25. At its front end casing |50 is provided with awide flange 45| which matches the flat rear surface of bulkhead |20, andat its rear end there is an outwardly projecting annular rib |52 whichserves as a stiifening element and as attachment means for nozzle tube25. Extending outwardly from casing |50 are eight longitudinal ribs |53|53 which run from flange |5| to annular rib |52, as shown more clearlyin Fig. 1.

Fitting within casing |50 is turbine discharge diffuser cap |54. At itsfront end the outer diameter of the cap is the same as the outerdiameter of the turbine rotor hub, and rearwardly the walls of the capconverge to a sharp point along an approved streamline curve asindicated. The front end of the cap is stiffened by a ring |55 weldedinto place, and four spider legs, one of which is illustrated at |56,are provided for fastening cap |54 in place within casing |50.

The method of assembling the discharge chamber segment is obvious,although it should be noted that the height of spider legs |56 makes itnecessary to turn the diffuser cap at an angle for insertion withincasing |50.

Each of the various segments of the motor being assembled, the segmentsare then joined as indicated in Fig. 1 and bolted together. This finalassembly is ordinarily performed in the place of installation, such asthe wing of an aeroplane, one of the advantages of my invention beingthat installation is greatly facilitated by the possibility of handlingthe motor in separate segments. The splined connection between thecompressor shaft and the gas turbine shaft is of value not only formaking possible the final assembly but also for permitting axial motionof the two shafts relative to one another in response to thermalexpansion.

A number of features which are either minor or auxiliary have beenomitted from the drawings in order to avoid unnecessary crowding andcomplexity of the figures. For example, numerous high-strength bolts andscrews are used to attach members to one another and only a few of thesehave been illustrated.

The electrical leads for igniter plugs 40-40, which are conductorscovered by heat-resistant insulation, are run through passages formed inwebs IUT-|01 and spider legs |08-I08 and through casing to the outsideof the motor, where they are connected to a. source of lowvoltagecurrent. Similarly, the electrical lead 7 for the starting motor housedin cap 21 is run through one of the spider legs 60-60.

I claim as my invention:

1. A continuous-combustion motor comprising: a compressor-segment casingof annular cross section; a gas-turbine-segment casing of annular crosssection, adapted for end-to-end connection to said compressor-segmentcasing; a compressor shaft bearing a compressor rotor and a gas-turbineshaft bearing a turbine rotor, said shafts being adapted for end-to-endconnection by longitudinal splines and matching splineways; alongitudinally split stator-blade sleeve adapted for assembly aroundsaid compressor rotor and adapted to fit within said compressor-segmentcasing; a pair of bearing housings for said compressor shaft, aiiixed tosaid compressor-segment casing; a longitudinally split stator-bladesleeve adapted for assembly around said turbine rotor; an integrallyformed annular wall adapted to receive internally said turbinestator-blade sleeve; a pair of bearings for said turbine shaft, amxed tosaid turbinesegment casing; and means for aiflxing said annular wall tosaid turbine-segment casing.

2. In a continuous-combustion motor having a combustion chamber, acompressor for supplying air to said combustion chamber, and a gasturbine for driving said compressor, the subcombination comprising: acasing segment of annular cross section for said compressor; a casingsegment of annular cross section for said gas turbine and saidcombustion chamber; a shaft for said compressor; a shaft for saidturbine; means aflixed to said compressor casing and independent of saidturbine casing for axially mounting said compressor shaft; and meansafxed to said turbine casing and independent of said compressor casingfor axially mounting said turbine shaft; said casing segments beingadapted for end-to-end connection to one another and said shafts beingadapted for end-toend connection with one another by longitudinalsplines and matching splineways.

JOHN C. HAWKINS.

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